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International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (LATTICE)

Real-time dynamics of the Schwinger model via variational quantum algorithms

Lento Nagano, Aniruddha Bapat, C. Bauer

Published May 4, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this article we investigate the real-time dynamics in the $(1+1)$-dimensional $U(1)$ gauge theory called the Schwinger model by using variational quantum algorithms. Specifically, we first prepare the ground state of the Hamiltonian without external electric field via the variational quantum eigensolver, and then perform real-time evolution under the Hamiltonian in the presence of the external field using the variational quantum simulation method. The same ansatz is used for both algorithms which reduces the overall depth of the quantum circuit. We test our protocol by using a noiseless statevector simulator and confirm that results from the quantum algorithms are consistent with those obtained by exact diagonalization. This article summarizes our previous work [1].

DOI
10.22323/1.453.0222

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In this article we investigate the real-time dynamics in the (1+1)(1+1)(1+1)-dimensional U(1)U(1)U(1) gauge theory called the Schwinger model by using variational quantum algorithms. Specifically, we first prepare the ground state of the Hamiltonian without external electric field via the variational quantum eigensolver, and then perform real-time evolution under the Hamiltonian in the presence of the external field using the variational quantum simulation method. The same ansatz is used for both algorithms which reduces the overall depth of the quantum circuit. We test our protocol by using a noiseless statevector simulator and confirm that results from the quantum algorithms are consistent with those obtained by exact diagonalization. This article summarizes our previous work [1].
We investigate the real-time dynamics of the (1+11+11+1)-dimensional U(1) gauge theory known as the Schwinger model via variational quantum algorithms. Specifically, we simulate quench dynamics in the presence of an external electric field. First, we use a variational quantum eigensolver to obtain the ground state of the system in the absence of an external field. With this as the initial state, we perform real-time evolution under an external field via a fixed-depth, parameterized circuit whose parameters are updated using McLachlan's variational principle. We use the same ansatz for initial-state preparation and time evolution, by which we are able to reduce the overall circuit depth. We test our method with a classical simulator and confirm that the results agree well with exact diagonalization.
We use the (1+1)-dimensional Schwinger model to investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of a finite lattice system under a constant external electric field. The lattice Hamiltonian is constructed under open boundary conditions. The vacuum state is prepared using the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE). Scans over the external field strength show the flip of the vacuum state at several field strengths. The critical field strengths agree with theoretical predictions. We further investigate the real-time evolution of the zero-field vacuum under an external electric field using a second-order Trotter-Suzuki decomposition. By comparison with exact diagonalization (ED), we verify that the quantum-simulation protocol reproduces the main features of field-induced boundary charge separation, decay of the vacuum-state fidelity, and quasiperiodic energy redistribution between the electric-field energy term and the fermionic sector. Our results indicate that combining VQE-based state preparation with digital real-time evolution provides a useful approach for studying nonequilibrium dynamics in strong-field lattice gauge theories.
Simulating the real-time dynamics of gauge theories represents a paradigmatic use case to test the hardware capabilities of a quantum computer, since it can involve non-trivial input states' preparation, discretized time evolution, long-distance entanglement, and measurement in a noisy environment. We implemented an algorithm to simulate the real-time dynamics of a few-qubit system that approximates the Schwinger model in the framework of lattice gauge theories, with specific attention to the occurrence of a dynamical quantum phase transition. Limitations in the simulation capabilities on IBM Quantum were imposed by noise affecting the application of single-qubit and two-qubit gates, which combine in the decomposition of Trotter evolution. The experimental results collected in quantum algorithm runs on IBM Quantum were compared with noise models to characterize the performance in the absence of error mitigation.
We present simulations of nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum field theories on digital quantum computers. As a representative example, we consider the Schwinger model, a (1+11+11+1)-dimensional U(1) gauge theory, coupled through a Yukawa-type interaction to a thermal environment described by a scalar field theory. We use the Hamiltonian formulation of the Schwinger model discretized on a spatial lattice. With the thermal scalar fields traced out, the Schwinger model can be treated as an open quantum system and its real-time dynamics are governed by a Lindblad equation in the Markovian limit. The interaction with the environment ultimately drives the system to thermal equilibrium. In the quantum Brownian motion limit, the Lindblad equation is related to a field theoretical Caldeira-Leggett equation. By using the Stinespring dilation theorem with ancillary qubits, we perform studies of both the nonequilibrium dynamics and the preparation of a thermal state in the Schwinger model using IBM's simulator and quantum devices. The real-time dynamics of field theories as open quantum systems and the thermal state preparation studied here are relevant for a variety of applications in nuclear and particle physics, quantum information and cosmology.
We explore the first-order phase transition in the lattice Schwinger model in the presence of a topological θ\thetaθ-term by means of the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE). Using two different fermion discretizations, Wilson and staggered fermions, we develop parametric ansatz circuits suitable for both discretizations, and compare their performance by simulating classically an ideal VQE optimization in the absence of noise. The states obtained by the classical simulation are then prepared on the IBM's superconducting quantum hardware. Applying state-of-the art error-mitigation methods, we show that the electric field density and particle number, observables which reveal the phase structure of the model, can be reliably obtained from the quantum hardware. To investigate the minimum system sizes required for a continuum extrapolation, we study the continuum limit using matrix product states, and compare our results to continuum mass perturbation theory. We demonstrate that taking the additive mass renormalization into account is vital for enhancing the precision that can be obtained with smaller system sizes. Furthermore, for the observables we investigate we observe universality, and both fermion discretizations produce the same continuum limit.
Abstract We explore the first-order phase transition in the lattice Schwinger model in the presence of a topological θ-term by means of the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE). Using two different fermion discretizations, Wilson and staggered fermions, we develop parametric ansatz circuits suitable for both discretizations, and compare their performance by simulating classically an ideal VQE optimization in the absence of noise. The states obtained by the classical simulation are then prepared on the IBM's superconducting quantum hardware. Applying state-of-the art error-mitigation methods, we show that the electric field density and particle number, observables which reveal the phase structure of the model, can be reliably obtained from the quantum hardware. To investigate the minimum system sizes required for a continuum extrapolation, we study the continuum limit using matrix product states, and compare our results to continuum mass perturbation theory. We demonstrate that taking the additive mass renormalization into account is vital for enhancing the precision that can be obtained with smaller system sizes. Furthermore, for the observables we investigate we observe universality, and both fermion discretizations produce the same continuum limit.